


Sons of Vincent

by beau (beaubear)



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Adoption, Becoming heroes, Brothers, F/F, F/M, Kinda, M/M, Prophetic Dreams, Protective Siblings, Referenced Child Abuse, does it count as adoption if they were kidnapped, no beta we die like Beau's heterosexuality, six dumbass brothers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:21:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27428596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beaubear/pseuds/beau
Summary: Six boys, all from noble houses, all with crests suddenly go missing one night when they were only infants. The Church of Seiros sent out their knights in a desperate attempt to search for them but to no avail. Little do they know, the boys had been taken by a man known as Vincent, who plans to raise them in secret and use them for his own unknown agenda. However, it will become harder for Vincent to hide them from public view when the boys start to become curious about the outside world.
Relationships: Ashe Ubert | Ashe Duran/Caspar Von Bergliez/Original Male Character, Cyril/Lysithea von Ordelia, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier, More to be added - Relationship, Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

Sunlight spilled into the room, making Byleth wince in his sleep, solemnly blinking his eyes awake, groaning all the while. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, gazing around the room and noticing his five brothers were all still tucked into their beds peacefully. Some snoring, while others had drool dripping from their mouths.

“It's morning,” the fifteen-year-old boy murmured to himself. Then he blinked as the words registered in his brain.

It's morning! That means…

“It’s my birthday!” He shouted. Byleth allowed a rare smile to spread across his face. He leaped from his bed, throwing the covers off himself in the process. 

His brothers, Cyril, Felix, Linhardt, Beau, and Nikolai, all squawked at the sudden abrupt noise, and all were startled awake. Nikolai fell off the bed, making him shout. All of the other boys were making their way out of the bed as well, except for Linhardt, who attempted to go back to sleep.

“What is your problem?” Felix, the twelve-year-old, snapped at Byleth. He climbed out of his bed, stepping over Niko as he did, ignoring the eleven-year-olds groans of anguish as he did.

“It’s my birthday today, remember!?” Byleth said, excitedly throwing on his clothes and running into the bathroom, attached to their room, promptly slamming in behind him.

“Oh, right. Father said that By’s birthday would be today.” Linhardt, the twelve-year-old, recalled lazily. He was slowly trying to make it back in the bed.

Cyril, the nine-year-old, helped Nikolai get up off the floor. “It’s rare to see him get excited about anything. It's almost intimidating.” Cyril remarked.

“Yes,” Nikolai grumbled, glaring at Felix, who glared back. “It is rather unsettling, right Beau?”

Beau, the ten-year-old, jumped at the sudden use of his name, as he hadn’t been listening to the conversation. He shrunk under feeling all of his brother’s gaze on him. “U-uh...yeah.” He answered back dumbly.

Cyril scowled upon seeing Linhardt attempting to go back sleep and yanked the covers off of him. “Oi! Get up! Father will start calling us for dinner in a few minutes.”

Linhardt opened one eye lazily and stared at Cyril. “Give that back.” Was all he said.

“No!”

Felix banged his fist against the bathroom door. “Hey! Byleth, get out of there! I gotta pee!” he shouted.

“Yeah! And I gotta brush my hair!” Niko shouted as well.

“Well, both of you will have to wait for your turn! I’m almost done!”

Beau simply stared at the chaos his brothers were causing and sighed. 

Suddenly, there was a knock at the bedroom door, making all of them go silent.

“Boys?” Their father called out to them through the door. “Are you all awake?”

“Most of us are,” Cyril grumbled, glaring at Linhardt. Linhardt simply blinked back at him.

Byleth stepped out of the bathroom, nearly falling over when Felix barged past him saying, “finally!” And slamming the door behind him, making the small house rattle.

Their father, Vincent, sighed from behind the bathroom door. “Well, hurry it up, all you. Breakfast will start to get cold. And make sure to wash your hands.” His footsteps faded as he started to walk away from the door.

Cyril eyed Byleth. “Did you wash your hands?”

“Of course I did.”

“Yeah, stop being a daddy’s boy Cyril.” Nikolai sneered. 

“I’m not!” Cyril defended.

“Niko, leave Cyril alone, or else I’ll tell father to not let you have cake later.” Byleth threatened. Being the oldest, he had to be the one to break up all of the fights.

Niko’s face contorted into pure anguish at the thought of not getting any cake. He shut up almost immediately. Byleth let out a satisfied hum.

Felix stepped out of the bathroom, and Niko attempted to step in after him, only to get stopped by Cyril.

“Hey, I’m next in line to go in!” Cyril glared.

“Are not!” Niko snapped.

“Are too!”

“Are not!”

“Are too-”

“Look, I don’t care who’s turn it is to go in, somebody go in already!” Linhardt whined, finally sitting up in his bed. “You guys are so loud! How can you expect me to get any sleep!”

Vincent gazed at the six boys with a calculating stare as they slowly entered the dining room. He had heard shouting coming from the kid’s shared bedroom, which wasn’t uncommon but was still annoying nonetheless.

“Good morning father.” The children choruses in unison. 

“Good morning, my children. Was there a problem getting up this morning?” The man asked the children, eyeing Linhardt especially, who looked like he was gonna fall asleep standing up at any moment. Niko’s violet hair was frazzled, looking as if he hadn’t even gotten the chance to brush it. Beau looked like his usual shy and timid self, Byleth was looking as composed as ever, as did Felix, and Cyril was glaring at Niko.

“There were...slight complications.” Byleth started slowly. “But, we did manage to all wake-up.”

The other five mumbled in agreement.

“I can see that,” Vincent said. “Well, all of you, get into your seats. I will give you all your plates in a moment.” He walked out of the dining room shortly after saying that.

They did as their father said, climbing into their respective seats, waiting patiently.

As they did, they all started to whisper amongst themselves.

“...no! I’m not gonna ask him that!” Byleth hissed at Niko.

“Why not? It’s your birthday. He has to answer it.” Nikolai answered back casually.

“So? Just because it’s my birthday doesn’t mean he’ll answer my questions about...you know what.” They all knew what Byleth was talking about. Speaking of the outside world around their father was taboo and a sensitive topic. Every time it was brought up, Vincent always seemed to get snappy and would often dodge their questions about it.

Byleth has been alive for fifteen years, and even he didn’t know what laid outside their tiny cottage house, located in the Oghma Mountains. He has never left the house before. None of them have, except for their father, who would take trips once a week to the outside.

“Well yeah, but it’s worth a shot, right?”

“It’s not worth father’s wrath if he finds out we are thinking about leaving,” Byleth stated bluntly.

“Yeah.” Cyril agreed.

“Shut up Cyril,” Nikolai snapped. “Just go play with your toys or something.”

“I don’t play with toys anymore, you stupid idiot!”

“Guys, please calm down.” Beau tried his best to defuse the situation. “Let’s just...lets just um, not fight, okay?” 

“Yes, please.” Linhardt agreed. “It’s Byleth’s birthday. Let’s not ruin it with petty squabbles.” He eyed Nikolai.

“What’s going on here? Cyril, did I hear you call Nikolai a curse again?” Vincent had returned seconds after Linhardt had uttered those words.

Cyril shrunk in his seat, looking at the table nervously. “Y-yes.” He answered honestly. He was always honest, even if it meant to his own detriment.

“While I appreciate your honesty, I recommend that you don’t use such vulgar words. Where did you even hear that from?” Vincent eyed Felix and Niko suspiciously, knowing the two of them were the most likely suspects.

Niko looked away nervously, while Felix just rolled his eyes.

The man sighed, before setting a couple more plates in front of the boys. “Well, in any case, the cake is in the oven right now. It should be ready soon. Are you ready to blow out the candles, Byleth?”

Byleth nodded vigorously. “Yes, father.”

A ringing sound rang through the dining room, signalling that the cake was ready.

“All of you, eat your breakfast first. We will eat the cake afterwards.” Vincent said, before striding into the kitchen.

“Yes father.” The boys chorused.

About an hour and a half later, everyone finished their breakfast, and the cake was being passed out, distributed equally among everyone. Of course, Nikolai complained, much to everyone’s chagrin. 

“Stop complaining about your piece Niko, it's not even your birthday.” Linhardt rolled his eyes lazily.

“I wasn’t talking to you Lin, so shut up.” Niko snapped.

Vincent gave Nikolai a sharp glare, immediately shutting the boy up.”Stop it Niko. Or else I’ll put you in the basement again.” His voice suddenly became threatening, a huge contrast to his kind demeanor mere seconds ago.

Niko’s face paled and he shrunk in his seat out of fear, muttering a small, “sorry,” to Linhardt. Linhardt just shrugged, uncaring.

“Now, Byleth, what did you wish for when you blew out the candles?” Vincent asked kindly. 

Byleth hesitated, before responding.

“I...I wished for an opportunity for me and my brothers so go see the outside world.”

The room went silent. Beau whimpered softly, already knowing what was gonna happen.

Vincent seemed calm on the outside, but from where he sat, Linhardt could see the burning anger in his eyes. “And why would you want that, my dear boy?” The man said simply.

“Well-“

“I’ve told all of you how dangerous the outside world is before.” Vincent stood up, walked over to Byleth, and gently placed both of his hands on the boy’s shoulders. “Humans are wretched creatures. They destroy and pillage for their own gain. We Agarthans are superior to them. Why would you want to go out there when all you want is down here?”

Byleth felt guilt settle in his stomach. Gods, he felt terrible. He didn’t mean to upset his father. 

“I know that the six of you are growing up, but you must understand that I am only doing this for your protection. Humans are untrustworthy, and I fear that if all of you leave, your minds will be prisoned by their ways. Do you understand?”

“...Yes, father.” Byleth finally said. He avoided the sympathetic gazes of his brothers.

Vincent nodded, satisfied. “Good. Now, don’t ask again.” He said, his voice a bit more grave and serious then his saccharine voice a moment ago. He raised his head to look at the rest of them. “That goes for the rest of you too.”

“Yes father.” The boys said, monotone.

“Thanks for nothing, Niko.” Cyril grumbled, as they all retired to their shared room. Vincent had announced that he was going to go hunting for tonight’s dinner, and left the cottage.

“Oh shut it.” The lavender haired boy snapped. “I wasn’t the one who blurted it out to father like a moron.”

Byleth glared at him. “You’re the one who told me to say that.” He deadpanned.

“Well, I didn't mean for you to drop it like that! I wanted you to ease him into the idea.” Niko retorted.

“Look, it’s over guys. Get over it. I don’t know why you even tried. Father doesn’t want us leaving, and it’s not like we can convince him otherwise.” Felix shrugged.

“C’mon, you guys can’t seriously tell me that you aren’t at least a little curious about what’s out there? We’ve been stuck in the stuffy house for years. And besides, how bad can humans possibly be? Father goes outside all the time, so shouldn’t we be allowed to?” Nikolai ranted, pacing back and forth in the bedroom all the while. 

Linhardt was already starting to settle back into his bed, his emerald eyes drooping, but still listening in on the conversation. Felix was sitting on the floor while Beau quietly braided his hair, Cyril was fiddling with his chess set, and Byleth was reading a book that Vincent had gifted to him.

“To be fair…” Beau started, before trailing off. “Well, to be fair,” he repeated, “he knows more about the outside world than we do. And, he is older than us, so he’s wiser and smarter, right? So, it makes sense that he can fend for himself.”

Niko sighed, before plopping down on the bed next to Linhardt, curling up to him. “I guess.” He muttered. “But it’s still unfair.”

Linhardt sighed, before gently combing his fingers through Niko’s hair. “You know, you really ought to get your hair braided yourself. How can you even see with your bangs covering your eyes so much?” He attempted to change the subject to something lighter.

It worked, and Niko’s demeanor changed significantly. 

“Well yeah but, I don’t just want my hair braided. I kinda want an accessory to go with it y’know? To spice it up a little.” Niko pouted. “And I can see just fine, thank you very much!” He nudged LInhardt playfully.

“I beg to differ. You were stumbling around earlier like a wounded fawn.” Felix snarked, smirking. His hair was in a neat high ponytail now. He moved from his spot on the floor so that Beau could rest a moment. 

“Well, that's because I fell off the bed thanks to a certain someone.” Niko gave Byleth a sharp look. Byleth ignored it.

“Can we just settle down? Papa is bringing food home, and I don’t think he's in the mood for your antics.” Cyril rolled his honey brown eyes before yawning. “Hey, are any of you in the mood for chess? I wanna be the ref again.”

Dinner was filled with laughter and bright smiles, which helped to warm the cold night. They had Roasted Pheasant for dinner, matched with some berries and cups of milk. Byleth was happily chatting with their father, Niko and Felix were exchanging snarky remarks, and Beau, Linhardt, and Cyril were all messing with each others hair (well, it was more of Beau and Cyril messing with Linhardts hair, while the latter just lazed about).

It was now late now at the small house, long after they had all settled down and eaten dinner, the boys trudged back to their bedroom. Linhardt passed out almost as soon as he hit the bed, Beau not too far behind him, Felix stayed up a little while longer before eventually succumbing to sleep as well, Byleth tucked Cyril in gently, placing a small kiss on his forehead, and repeating the gesture to the rest of his brothers.

He would go into their fathers room and do the same for Vincent, but he explicitly said to stay out of his room. As well as the consequences that would follow if they dared to disobey.

Byleth climbed into bed, a soft, and content smile on his face. Another amazing birthday with his family.

Why had he even thought of leaving home? Sure, it would be nice to see the outside world, but why would he even want to? His true home was here. All he ever wanted was here. Byleth let out a soft sigh. He couldn’t help but hope things never changed.

Linhardt woke with a start.

As much as he loathed waking up, he hated nightmares even more. 

He didn’t remember the details of the dream all that well, just that he envisioned bloodshed. Screams of the damned had filled his ears, the sound of weaponry colliding, horses neighing and squealing, the sound of spells going off, etc.

What made the dream even more strange was the fact that Linhardt had never even heard any of those sounds before, which puzzled him even more. It didn’t make sense that he recognized sounds that he never even heard. Even weirder, he actually felt like he was there. As in, he was actually there, in the middle of the battle.

Linhardt just shook his head. Thinking this hard made his head hurt. It was too much work, too much effort to think this much.

Finding that he couldn’t bring himself to fall back into slumber, he sluggishly crawled out of bed and stumbled out of the room. He was sure to keep his steps light, and close the door behind him even lighter, to be sure not to wake up his family.

He tiptoed all the way to the attic. The room him and his brothers were specifically instructed to never enter. But that hard;y deterred him. In fact, it only spurred his curiosity more.

Linhardt pulled out a small bobby pin that he swiped from Beau while they all settled down for bed. While he didn’t particularly enjoy taking what wasn’t his, much less stealing from his baby brother, he wanted-no-needed to know what was down there. His analyst and scientist mind screamed at him to sniff out the truth himself.

After a few moments of frustrated rattling with the doorknob and mental screaming, Linhardt successfully opened up the door. What his eyes laid upon was a descent of stairs. His curiosity peaked.

As he walked down the steps, wincing at the creaking sounds of the worn-down steps, his emerald orbs gazed upon his ultimate not-so-guilty pleasure.

A library. A massive one at that. He had never seen one before, but according to his novels, this was a library.

Linhardt had only heard of libraries from books (ironically enough) that his father had provided him. Meaning that him and his brothers only read what their father wanted them to. He never gave them books providing too much about the outside world. He was purposefully keeping information from them that would keep the brothers from expanding their knowledge.

As much as Linhardt loved his father, that pissed him off. He wasn’t as brainwashed by their father as his brothers were (despite acting like he was) and didn’t stand for it. 

Linhardt wanted to grab as many books as he possibly could, he knew he could only take around two or three, unless risking his father's wrath if he found out. 

He took three books all titled, “The History of Fodlan,” “Book of Crest Designs,” and “Monarch Studies.”

Lin didn’t know what ‘crest’,’Fodlan,’ or ‘monarch,’ meant, but that only aroused his hunger for knowledge even more. This was a chance for him and his brothers to finally learn more. He knew all of them would be excited at the prospect of learning more.

The boy trudged back up the stairs as screetly and as quietly as he could, closing the attic door behind him and scurrying back to his room, leaving without a trace.

His decision would soon change the course of Fodlan’s history.


	2. Inquisitive Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linhardt shows his brothers the books he found and it sparks some rebellion within the boys.

The next morning was more peaceful then the previous one. Vincent had left earlier after breakfast to go out for food and supplies again, leaving the children alone. Which was perfect, for what Linhardt had planned.

Beau caught wind of Linhardt’s rather odd behavior and quickly called him out. “Lin, what wrong?” Beau soft and quiet voice asked softly. All of them had just finished breakfast and were lounging in the living room, all doing their own thing. Linhardt, in a trance, didn’t hear Beau’s call. “Lin!”

Linhardt snapped out of his catatonic state, looking at his brothers now, who were all staring back at him. “What?”

Niko rolled his eyes. “Don’t ‘what’ us. You’ve been acting weirder than usual all day! Are you hiding something?” He eyed Linhardt suspiciously.  
Linhardt paused for a moment, wondering if now was the right time to talk about this. Well, better now then never, he thought to himself.

“I...I found something in the attic. Do you guys promise to keep it a secret?”

The other five gasped.

“You went into the attic!? Even after father said not to?” Byleth stared in disbelief.

“Well, not all of us follow father’s orders blindly.” Linhardt retorted.

“What are you trying to say?” Cyril eyed him suspiciously.

“I’m saying that maybe, just maybe, father isn't telling the truth. About us. There’s something that he’s hiding from us.” As he spoke, Linhardt stood up and walked out of the living room. When he came back, he had three rather thick books with him. He set them down on the center table, and all six of them gathered around it. “When we all went to sleep last night, I snuck into the attic.” He ignored the gasps of his brothers and continued with his story. “And when I went down there, I found a library.”

Beau looked as if he was about to faint. “You mean, there’s just an entire library underneath the house?” His soft voice inquired.

“Yeah, while I wanna believe you, that's pretty hard to believe. Sorry.” Nikolai looked apologetic, but unbelieving. 

Byleth piped in again. “Yes! I mean, how do you even know that it's a library? None of us have ever seen one.” 

“I know, but the description of what I’ve seen in some of the books father gave us fit what I saw perfectly!” Linhardt's eyes gleamed excitedly, despite his apathetic tone. He only ever usually got like this when he found a new discovery. 

Felix squinted his eyes at Linhardt. “Alright, fine. Then what are those books you have there?” He picked one up, and read the cover slowly. “...’Monarch Studies.’” He read aloud.

Niko scrunched his nose in distaste. “Ew. That sounds boring.”

The youngest rolled his eyes. “You think all books are boring Niko.” 

“Because they are!”

Beau picked up another. “Uh...how about…’The History of Fodlan?’”

The rest of them paused, before just shrugging. “Sure. Let’s go with that one.” Felix responded.

Byleth pursed his lips. This felt wrong. It wasn’t right to disobey their father. Sure, he kept things from them, but he did it for good reasons, right? After all, he only did this to protect them.

“Aren’t any of you even a little wary of going behind our fathers back? I mean, doesn’t it feel strange to you?” Byleth voiced, uncertainly.

Cyril frowned. “I’ll admit, it doesn’t feel right. Going behind his back like this…” He paused for a moment, suddenly looking contemplative. “You guys, are we sure we should go snooping through his stuff?”

“But it's not ‘his’ Cyril. See?” Linhardt showed the cover to Cyril again, his pointer finger at the bottom, which read, ‘written by Midas Hoover’.”

Beau gasped and covered his mouth with both of his tiny hands. “You...you mean father stole something?” He squeaked.

“C’mon guys, maybe the book was just handed to father. There’s no way he just stole it.” Nikolai rolled his eyes. “Anyways, enough of that! Open it up, I wanna see what’s in it!” He pressured. Byleth looked as if to protest, but just sighed and shook his head.

Beau opened the book tentatively, looking towards the front door as if Vincent would walk through at any moment. “Okay uhh, who wants to read it.” He hated reading in front of everyone.

“I guess I could.” Cyril offered, taking the book from the shy boy. He opened it, the rest of his brothers crowding around to see the contents. The only books they had been allowed to read were the ones that their father had wanted them to read, ones that he permitted, so it was exciting to read something that he forbade.

The youngest cleared his throat, and read aloud:

“The three major powers of the continent of Fodlan. The Leicester Alliance. The Adrestian Empire. The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. All of them have a deep and rich history, filled with mystery and intrigue. And most of all: hope.”

Felix groaned in the background saying, “Not another one of these stupid stories.”

As Cyril finished the first chapter, all six of the boys were left dumbfounded. 

“Wow, the people outside are so...divided.” Byleth murmured to himself. “They are so divided that they separated themselves into several factions. And on top of that, all of these factions are constantly at war with one another.”

“I wouldn’t say ‘constantly at war,’ but there definitely seems to be a lot of animosity and scorn towards one another.” Linhardt hummed. “Father seems to have told us the truth about that, at least.”

“Yeah. But here's what I don’t understand: why don’t they all just unite? I mean, wouldn’t wars be less common if everyone just decided to get over their own differences? They should all just become one.” Niko quipped, crossing his arms. He scowled as another piece of hair got in his face. Seriously, he needed a way to keep it from flopping in his face.

“You’re right. Why do humans war over silly stuff like land? If they just cooperated, less blood would be spilt.” Beau frowned, tracing the white splotches on his arms and neck, something that he did when he was in the middle of thinking.

Felix snorted, looking away from the book to glance at his brothers. “To me, it just sounds like humans don’t know what they’re doing. They always fight over dumb things like chilvary and revenge. Father was right, humans are stupid and evil.” He said it with finality, leaving no more room for arguing.

“Eh, I wouldn’t say that they’re stupid. Maybe they’re just...misled. Maybe they just need someone who is a proper leader. Or, just someone to show them what they’re doing wrong.” Cyril supplied. And then he paused. “Hey...guys...why don’t we-”

“Boys, I’m home!” A familiar voice shouted from outside. All of the boys jumped in shock, surprised to hear that Vincent was already back. “Could one of you get the door for me? My hands are full from groceries.” Vincent said, sounding overwhelmed. 

“Crap!” Cyril hissed. “We can’t let father see the book! He’ll know that we’ve been going through his stuff!” He scrambled to his feet from the chair and snatched up the books, pushing it into Linhardts arms. “Take them back where you found them! EXACTLY where you found them!”

Linhardt stumbled backwards at the force of Cyril pushing the books into his arms. He whined, “Can’t one of you help me? These are so heavy!”

“I’ll help.” Felix responded, taking one of them off of Linhardt’s hands. “Now, come on. We gotta get these back before father sees.”

Linhardt nodded, before beckoning for Felix to follow him down the hallway.

“Hello?” Their father’s sharp voice reverberated through the house again. “Didn’t any of you hear me? I need help, one of you open the door! Don’t tell me all of you are asleep again…” 

Byleth cursed under his breath before opening the front door, wincing slightly at the sudden exposure to sunlight, as he was mostly used to soft candlelight. “Sorry father, we didn’t hear you.” He took some of the bags from Vincent, using the back of his food to prop the door open.

“Hey dad! Here, I’ll help you a bit.” Niko walked over, and took some more groceries from his hands, sneaking a peek inside of them. Most of what he saw were vegetables, which made him inwardly wince. Cyril made room on the table to put the groceries on, while Beau shut the front door after the three of them walked in.

Vincent placed the bags on the table, and furrowed his brows. “Where are Linhardt and Felix?” He looked around questionably.

All of the remaining boys stiffened.

“Ah, well...they just went to go and fetch something.” Beau answered, uncertainly, shuffling around.

“Yeah.” Nikolai agreed. He was trying to hide his nervousness by rummaging through the grocery bags.

Vincent squinted his eyes at them suspiciously, but relented. “...Alright. Well, someone go get them. We need their help to put away groceries.”

“No need, here we are.” Linhardt announced, arriving back in the room. Felix was not far behind him. Byleth sent him a look, silently asking if they managed to put the books back where they found them. Felix nodded at him, shooting him a look as well. The eldests body posture visibly relaxed.

“Ah, there you rascals are.” Vincent smiled fondly. “Now come, help us put the food away. I brought home some more things for you all to try.”

Evening has come once again to the small cottage. They had all already eaten dinner, and the boys were in the living room once more, in silence. Niko was playing chess with Linhardt, Cyril was messing with some crafting wood that their father had given them, Felix was fiddling with a wooden sword, Beau was reading a book that Vincent had gotten him as well, and Byleth was attempting to read as well, but was slowly nodding off.

Cyril, in the middle of playing with his creation, before pausing. “Hey, guys?”

Byleth, who was close to falling completely asleep, snapped to attention and darted his eyes to the youngest, dazed. “Wha-uh-yes?”

Linhardt didn’t even turn his head, but responded, “Yes, Cyril?” 

“Ah, about what I was saying earlier, ya know, before father interrupted, what if we...ya know...what if we went to go see the outside world ourselves? Like, what if we snuck out while father is away?” 

Now that caught Linhardts attention. His emerald eyes snapped to Cyril in disbelief. Beau’s eyes became like saucers, his mouth agape, Felix hardly showed a reaction, but Cyril saw a hint of surprise in his sharp eyes. 

Byleth’s eyes showed fury. “What are you talking about?! We can’t leave!” His voice practically echoed off the walls.

“Shut up!” Felix hissed at him. “Could you be any louder? Do you want father to overhear?”

“Perhaps I do! You guys have been acting ridiculous all day! Maybe father will snap you out of it!”

“Byleth, stop!” Beau stared at him with horror, his eyes darting to the entrance of the living room in panic, as if expecting Vincent to walk in at any moment. 

“Yessh, what's your deal? You’ve been acting like a party pooper all day.” Niko rolled his eyes, brushing his bangs out of his face again. “Like, c’mon! Aren’t you even a little curious? We’ve been holded up here our entire lives. Aren’t you tired of doing the same things over and over again?” 

The eldest sighed. “Of course I am. Of course I’m curious. But our curiosity could get us killed! I’m just worried about us. About all of you.” His voice grew softer near the end of his sentence.

Niko’s body language softened as well. His eyes made sad shapes. “Byleth....” He murmured.

“I’m the eldest, I’m supposed to make sure all of us are safe. Humans are evil, like father said, right? I won’t let our curiosity get us killed. All of you mean so much to me.”

“And you mean alot of us, By.” Linhardt responded, finally turning away from the chess board to walk up the eldest and gently embrace him. “We understand you.”

Felix nodded. “Yeah, we may disagree with you, but we still care.” He didn’t say things like that often, so Byleth could tell it took alot for him to admit it. Felix begrudgingly got up and hugged him as well.

The rest eventually joined in, soothing Byleth with their warmth. He sighed contentedly, appreciating that he had such a loving family.

Beau spoke up after a while, saying, “We know that you’re worried, but you have to let us make our own decisions. I’m scared too, of going outside, but I won’t let fear stop me.” His voice was oddly firm, startling Byleth. Beau was usually the most quiet and timid out of the family, rarely speaking, so him sounding so bold and firm was a pleasant surprise.

Nikolai grinned. “Wow, I’ve never heard you speak so clearly, Beau.”

The second-youngest ducked his head again, his blush stark against his dark skin.

They all let out a jovial laugh, even Cyril, who was usually so stern, and Felix, who rarely showed any emotion at all, besides annoyance.

There was a moment of silence, before Byleth spoke up again, reluctantly.

“...I...I guess we could go outside. But only if we all go together. And we’ll only go for a few hours. Am I clear?” Byleth pulled away from the six-way embrace and looked at them all, sternly. 

Everyone’s eyes brightened immediately.

“Hell yeah! This is gonna be great!” Niko thrusted his fist up in the air, grinning. 

“Yeah!” Beau looked ecstatic, Linhardt looked satisfied, Cyril looked slightly nervous, but intrigued, and Felix was smirking.

Byleth sighed for the 50th time that day. 

“Don’t make me regret my decision you guys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! Sorry for the long wait, I was just grounded a couple weeks ago due to my grades, so I’ve been having to write while my parents aren’t looking in order to finish the chapter, which is hard haha. I’ve also been busy with schoolwork, so there’s that too! I’ll try to make sure the next chappie doesn’t take as long. Leave a kudos and a comment, it really helps me get motivated. Hope you have a nice day, bye!


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